Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Hunt

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

After working in ministry for a little over a decade, I was given the opportunity to teach outdoor skills due to a transition in my life and ministry at the time. I started a faith-based outdoor school teaching primarily survival skills and bushcraft camping. Within a few years, I began developing products made from waxed canvas to solve problems we faced while going on woodland expeditions. A larger company asked me to manufacture gear for them and coupled with our growing demand for products; we began a small-batch manufacturing company from our living room.

Within four years, we purchased a shop building, quadrupled our output, and added five employees, four family members, and a neighbor. Our products have become increasingly popular, with survival and bushcraft television on-trend. They have appeared on television programs on major networks and in small films and can be seen regularly in survival documentaries and on YouTube. They have also been publicized in many magazine articles. Early in our business, we launched on Amazon and have done so well that Amazon asked us to help launch the Amazon Handmade platform, where we talked on Amazon Live and did other promotions with the company.

Now, our company fuels our ministry work. We support full-time missionaries in Pakistan, host free public bushcraft revival events, and have established a bushcraft retreat for in-depth weekend training sessions with select individuals and families.

We still manufacture all our softgoods in a traditional old style and hand-wax our fabrics the hard way, which makes our items unique among other waxed canvas makers. We pride ourselves on functional simplicity, and keeping it simple has partly led to our success.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

The primary struggles we encountered have been related to growth or supply chain. Early on, manufacturing items from our home was a chore. The living room became a sewing shop, and as we grew, this work spread to the other rooms of the house. This made us resent being so busy at times because we were always working. After all, it was always in our faces. We purchased our shop building during the pandemic in 2020, and while this allowed us freedom at home, we were quickly faced with supply chain issues. Fabric supplies ran out often, and sometimes, they would send anything they could get us, even if the colors were different from what we needed.

This led to some creative product spins, but we endured and flourished while many others in our industry closed down, some forever. These supply chain obstacles continue to plague the industry, albeit nowhere near as bad as they once were. Our current challenge is maintaining the work/life balance. As we have learned, we can be as busy as we choose. There’s no limit to the number of products we can create and sell; it essentially boils down to a quality-of-life decision, and therein lies the struggle. With young adult children going to college and looking to go out on their own, where do we settle and draw the line to maintain equilibrium that can be maintained? It’s a wonderful place to be, yet trying amid the ebb of flow of business growth.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

At Campcraft Outdoors, we’re inspired by the golden age of camping and woodcraft. The 1840s through the 1970s represented a unique time in American history when warriors returned home from the various theatres of battle to reflect and heal in the wild spaces of their homeland. This recreation spurred innovation, creating the outdoor industry we enjoy today.

As a family-owned small business, we’ve taken what we’ve learned from these outdoor innovators and applied it to the gear we manufacture. We use strong materials, keep things as light as possible, and multifunctional. We also handcraft every piece of kit, be it a hand-waxed bag or hand-forged knife; someone has put a bit of themselves into each of our unique products. We choose the harder path because others don’t, which sets us apart.

What matters most to you?

Faith is the driving force in all we do. We have faith in Christ, which transfers into our belief that we can create a quality product to serve people while they recreate outdoors. We also have faith that our products will last for years and that our testimony of working as a family to create a product will inspire others to follow their dreams as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.campcraftoutdoors.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/campcraft_outdoors